Borders closed, arrivals banned: Ebola outbreak changes a region

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Borders closed, arrivals banned: Ebola outbreak changes a region

(CNN) — West African nations are turning to drastic measures in a desperate effort to stem the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

Guinea has closed its border with Sierra Leone, a border police official told CNN.

Meanwhile, the Zambian government banned arrivals of people from countries where there has been an Ebola outbreak, as a preventive measure to stop the virus from entering the country.

“All delegates from any of the countries affected by Ebola Virus disease are restricted from entering Zambia until further notice,” Dr. Joseph Kasonde, Zambia’s minister of health, said in a statement Saturday.

The virulent virus continues to advance from its epicenter in Sierra Leone to nearby Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria. Other West African governments are attempting to contain the outbreak, which has been declared a “public health emergency of international concern” by the World Health Organization.

Nearly 1,800 cases, including 961 deaths, are attributed to the virus, the World Health Organization says.

Nigeria and Liberia have declared states of national emergency, in an effort to control the unprecedented epidemic.

The United States and the United Kingdom vowed Saturday to increase assistance to help combat the disease in West Africa.

Two missionaries who had traveled to Africa are being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Canada, meanwhile, announced Sunday that a patient who recently traveled to Nigeria has tested negative for Ebola.

The patient was treated in isolation after complaining of fever, headache and malaise. He is now doing well, said Eric Hoskins, minister of health and long-term care.

“Ontarians should know that we are fully prepared should any cases appear in the province,” Hoskins said in a statement. “This situation was the result of all our protocols working effectively.”